


Eleven Going On Thirty Three

by GE72



Category: Kids Incorporated
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 15:51:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GE72/pseuds/GE72
Summary: After getting conked on the head, Stacy wakes up in a different world - a world in the near future where she's a pop star named Fergie. But here, no one has ever heard of Kids Incorporated. However, there's one person that Stacy manages to recognize.





	Eleven Going On Thirty Three

Stacy slowly opened her eyes, wondering what had happened. _Just what did happen? All I did was….wait, what did I do?_

The last thing she remembered was that she was talking to Renee and Gloria backstage in the dressing room, when Renee started shouting. That wasn’t anything new, Renee could get loud just like that. But it was as if she was trying to tell her something. But what?

“Fergie? Are you okay?”

Fergie? Who’s Fergie? she thought.

“She just conked her head, that’s all,” she heard someone say. 

Another someone asked, “Is she okay?”

Someone else said, “This better not be a relapse!”

Though her eyes were open, Stacy was trying to focus them. There were people standing and kneeling over her, but they were all still blurry to her.

“Renee,” Stacy finally said, “what happened?”

Someone replied, “Renee? Who’s Renee?”

“Ha, ha, very funny, Ryan,” Stacy said.

“No, seriously, who’s Renee? And who’s Ryan?”

Stacy was still trying to focus her eyes. Where was Renee? Where was Ryan? Or anyone else for that matter? Just what was going on?

“Stop joking,” Stacy said. “Where’s Renee?”

“There’s no one named Renee here,” someone replied.

“What?” Stacy tried to sit up suddenly.

“Take it easy!” Someone tried to stop Stacy from getting up too fast. “Let us see if you’re okay.”

Stacy’s eyes began to focus. The people around her began to take shape….

But she didn’t know any of them.

“Who are you people?” Stacy demanded, suddenly scared.

“Oh, great, she’s lost her mind!”

“It has to be a relapse!”

“Will you stop saying that! She’s not smoking that stuff again!”

“I don’t smoke!” Stacy said back. “I’m only eleven years old!”

“Eleven? I knew it! She’s back on the meth!”

“She’s not on meth!”

Stacy asked, “What’s meth?”

Everyone looked at her. Someone asked, “My God, how hard did that thing hit her head?”

Stacy looked at the people tending to her. She didn’t recognize any of them. For one thing, they were all adults. There was no Ryan, no Gloria, no Kid, no Renee. Riley wasn’t even there, and he was the only adult who should’ve been backstage at The P*lace.

Then Stacy finally asked the question that was first and foremost on her mind. “Where am I?” The people around her looked at her, completely confused as much as she was. Then Stacy asked, “Who are you guys?”

“We work for you,” one of them replied. “Some of us anyway.”

“And you’re at the studio,” another one said. “Don’t you know?”

“No,” Stacy said back.

“You said you’re eleven years old? Fergie, you’re thirty three!” 

Stacy’s eyes widened in horror. _Thirty three! I must look like an old lady!_ “Do you have a mirror?” she asked.

One of the people quickly went off, then came back with a hand held mirror. Stacy held it up and looked at her reflection.

Looking back at her wasn’t an eleven year old. Her eyes were still blue, and her hair still blonde, but her face was rounder, her cheeks slightly touched up with rouge, and her lips were a bright and shiny, as red as a cherry. 

It took just one second after seeing herself for Stacy to react.

“AUGGGGGHHHHH!” 

*********************************

After her screaming fit, a couple of the people helped Stacy to her feet, then sat her down in a sofa chair. One of them ran off to get her some water, while a couple of others, a man with thick glasses dressed in all black, and a woman in a tight jeans and loose t-shirt stayed with her.

Stacy had so many questions running through her head. Like, how did she get here? What had happened to her? Where exactly was she? Who were these people? And where was Renee, Ryan, and everyone else? Might as well start asking….

“Where am I?” Stacy asked.

“You’re in the Mulholland Studios,” the woman in the tight jeans said. “Los Angeles.”

“What happened?”

“Some janitor accidentally dropped an empty paint can on your head from a ladder,” the man in the glasses said. “He thought his assistant was below him waiting for the can. The others are talking to him right now. Maybe firing him, too.”

Stacy thought it was time to find out who she was talking to. “Who are you guys?”

“I’m Carson,” the man in all black said. He gestured to the girl in tight jeans, “That’s Julianne. Now let me ask you – do you know who you are?”

“Yes, I’m Stacy.”

“Don’t you mean Fergie?”

“Who’s Fergie?”

“That’s you!” Carson exclaimed. “You’re Fergie!”

“What kind of a name is Fergie?”

“It’s part of your last name. Ferguson.”

“It is?” Stacy looked around. “Where’s my sister Renee?”

“Your sister is in New York,” Julianne said. “And her name’s not Renee. It’s –“

“My sister is Renee!” Stacy insisted. “Where’s Ryan, or Gloria, or The Kid?”

“Who are those guys?” Carson asked.

“They’re my friends! 

“The Kid?” Carson exclaimed. “Who are we talking about? Kid Rock?”

“We’re in Kids Incorporated!” Stacy said.

There was an awkward silence. Julianne finally said, “Never heard of them.”

Stacy couldn’t believe her ears. They never heard of Kids Incorporated? How could that be? Then again, if she was thirty three years old, that must mean….

“What’s today’s date?”

Julianne replied, “June twenty second, two thousand and eight.”

Stacy’s brain went on overload. Two thousand and eight?! _That must mean we have a colony on the moon! Flying cars! A woman president!_

“How did twenty years go by so fast?” Stacy asked.

“It’s called life,” Carson said. “Get used to it.”

“But where’s my sister?” Stacy demanded. “Where’s my mom? Where’s my frog?”

Carson and Julianne looked at Stacy before answering. “Your sister is in New York, your mom is on vacation, sitting on a beach in Cabo, and you never had a frog.”

“My mom is in Cabo?” Stacy asked. “What’s Cabo?” _This was way too much_ , Stacy thought. _Just how did I get here, and how do I get back? Am I in some kind of twisted version of The Wizard of Oz? Or is this Wonderland?_

“Look Fergie,” Carson said, “your head should be clearing up soon. You’ll begin to remember things soon enough. And just in time for your boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Julianne said.

“Whatever.”

If the time travel wasn’t enough, this was. “Boyfriend?” exclaimed Stacy. “Mom said I can’t date until I’m fourteen!”

“You dated him for a couple of years while you were on that teen sitcom,” Carson said. “He’s now working for one of those entertainment report shows, ‘Extra.’ He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Look Fergie,” Julianne said, “just chill back here. Get yourself together. Everything will be fine.” The two took a deep breath and walked out of the room, leaving Stacy all by herself.

 _Boyfriend? How did I get a boyfriend?_ Stacy wondered. Then a sudden chill rolled through her body. _What if Billy The Dweeb’s my boyfriend?_

Stacy slowly got up from her chair, and walked around the room. There was a table full of newspapers, and assorted papers, all scattered about. There was also a big boom box.

Along one of the walls, was a full-length mirror. Stacy went over to it, and looked at her reflection. Instead of an eleven year old girl, Stacy saw a grown woman in her early thirties. _Not bad._ In some places, she had grown a little more. 

Stacy peaked down her shirt. _I’ve got Renee beat by a mile!_

She went over to the table. She looked at the newspaper. A headline read: **Obama Is Now Frontrunner.** There was a picture of a distinguished black man in a suit and tie to go with the story. _Obama?_ Stacy thought, _what’s an Obama?_

She looked at the boom box. There was a tape deck but no cassette tapes inside it. There was a compact disc case next to it, and it had her likeness on it. She looked at the image and the caption: Fergie. The Duchess.

That’s me? I wonder what I sound like? She looked for the play button for the CD player. She thought it must be a new kind of boom box, because they didn’t have CD players on them yet. But if this was the year two thousand and eight, maybe Sony or whoever found a way to do it. She found the buttons for the CD player and pushed PLAY.

Instantly, something that resembled music came blasting out, along with something that sounded like a lyric.

“HOW COME WHENEVER I COME AROUND MY LONDON LONDON BRIDGE WON’T COME DOWN…”

Stacy quickly hit the STOP button. _That’s what I sound like?_ If her mom heard her singing that song – if you could call it that – she would be grounded for life.

There were other CD’s on the table. She didn’t recognized any one of them. Train. Three Doors Down. Alicia Keys. Creed. Sheryl Crow. Eminem (Stacy thought, _I wonder what he sings_ ). Maroon 5 ( _the lead singer looks kinda hot_ ).

A few minutes later, Julianne came back into the room. “Your ex-boyfriend is here,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“No,” Stacy said. And she meant it.

“Well, we can’t stall him,” Julianne said. “Carson’s talking to him now. You better go out there.”

Maybe Stacy would say something that would drive the interviewer away. But her curiosity was getting the best of her. Just who was her (ex) boyfriend?

Stacy followed Julianne to another room. Carson was there, talking with a reporter, as a pair of high back stool chairs were set up with klieg lights being positioned by a two man camera crew around them. The reporter was facing Carson, his back to Stacy and Julianne.

“I’m telling you, she’s fine!” Carson insisted. “It was just an accident, that’s all.”

“Are you sure she’s okay?” the reporter said. 

“She’s fine! Look, I know you’re her ex-boyfriend and all that, but there’s nothing to worry about!”

“She got hit on the head! Why didn’t you call a doctor!?”

“I’m telling you, she’s up and around. She’s all right!”

“And here she is!” Julianne said to them. “Ready to go!”

Stacy said “Hi there.”

The reporter turned around to face Stacy. “Hey, Fergie,” he said. “Good to see you’re up and around.”

Stacy’s eyes nearly popped out and her jaw dropped the proverbial country mile. The reporter’s hair was wavy, not curly as she remembered. He was definitely taller now, not to mention more buff. The dress shirt he had on barely contained his build, especially the biceps. His face, though more filled out, hadn’t changed much, because the dimples were still there.

Stacy tried to get the right words out of her mouth, but the shock of seeing him so….so….so….

“Fergie,” the reporter said, “is something wrong?”

She finally got her mouth to function right, and she spit the name out.

“Mario?” 

“Yeah, that’s me,” Mario Lopez, the “Extra TV” reporter, replied.

Stacy’s knees buckled, but she didn’t pass out. Julianne helped her stay on her feet.

“See,” Carson said to Mario, “she’s glad to see you.”

*****************************

Julianne helped Stacy make it back to the other room.

“I know Mario has this effect on girls,” Julianne said, “but for you to almost faint like that, jeez!”

Stacy shook her head to make sure she was awake. “That’s Mario?” she asked. Twenty two years may have passed, but still. “How did he get so…so…so…”

“Hot?” Julianne replied. “From what I understand, he’s always been like that. Even when you two were teenagers.”

“I knew he wrestles,” Stacy said, “but still.” 

Mario, the now older version, came into the room. “Is she feeling better?” he asked.

“She’s up now,” Julianna said. 

“Can I talk to her? In private?”

“Is this going to be part of the interview?”

“It’s not. Please.” Julianne left Mario with Stacy.

“Fergie,” Mario asked, “are you sure feeling okay?”

Stacy looked at the now grown up Mario, still trying to comprehend it all.

“Fergie?” he asked again. “Why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong?”

Stacy tried to think of something to ask. Finally, she said, “How long have we known each other?”

Mario looked at her oddly before answering. “We’ve know each other since we were sixteen.”

“Sixteen? Not before that?”

“No. We were sixteen. We met when you did a guest spot on ‘Bayside High.’”

“’Bayside High’?’” Stacy never heard of it. (Of course, to her, it hadn’t come on yet.) “Don’t you remember anything else before that?”

“Like what?”

“When we were kids. You played the drums in our band, Kids Incorporated.”

Mario gave Stacy a look as if she had relapsed. “Huh?”

“You know. There was me, my sister Renee, Gloria, Ryan and The Kid. We played at The P*lace and – “

“Stacy, are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Of course I am! I was there. Now I’m here, and I don’t know how to get back.”

“Fergie, I never heard of this Kids Incorporated. You told me when you were a kid, you started singing in a school choir.”

“I’m telling you what I know happened,” Stacy insisted. “I just want to go back to The P*lace and be with my friends.”

“Well, you’re here now,” said Mario. 

“These people aren’t my friends,” Stacy said. “You’re the only one who I know here, and you don’t even remember me.” She was on the verge of tears. “The way I remember you.”

“Fergie, please,” Mario said. “Don’t be this way.” He reached over and put his arms around her. “Remember, what you told me – big girls don’t cry.”

“I’m eleven. I can cry if I want to.”

“You don’t look eleven.”

“Trust me, I am.”

Stacy cried a few tears, as Mario tried to think of something to say that would make this whole thing look and feel better. Instead, he said, “We were never like this on ‘Bayside High.’”

Stacy looked at Mario. “What is ‘Bayside High’?”

“It was the show that we were on,” Mario replied, as he released his embrace on Stacy. “Don’t you remember?” Stacy shook her head. “It was a sitcom about high school. That’s where we met. I was the big time jock, you were the hot cheerleader.” The look on Stacy’s face still didn’t register any acknowledgement. 

“Mario, we’re in Kids Incorporated,” Stacy said. “I mean, we were back then. You were our drummer.” She explained about Kids Incorporated and who they were and what kind of music they played.

“A band made up of kids around middle school age?” Mario quipped. “Sounds like it could be a good TV show. Sort of like a ‘Middle School Musical’ or something like that.” Then he said, “Fergie, I don’t know what happened to make you forget back then. But I’m here now. I know we’re not dating anymore, but I still care about you. It hurts to see you like this. I wish I knew what I could do to help.”

“I wish I knew what to do as well,” Stacy said, “but I don’t know either.”

Stacy tried to remember. Before she wound up here, she was in the dressing room at The P*lace with Gloria and Renee. She was reaching for something on one of the shelves, a book or something else. Then Renee started shouting at her and….and what? The next thing she knew, it was 2008, not 1986.

“They were saying someone dropped an empty paint can on my head,” Stacy said to Mario.

“I saw that janitor earlier,” Mario said. “He was really sorry.”

Stacy shrugged. Just how can an empty paint can cause someone to jump forward in time anyway? And if it did, could it work in reverse as well? But the thought of getting conked on the head just to prove a theory seemed a bit drastic.

“Look, Fergie,” Mario said, “if you want to bag this interview over with, that’s okay? Then we can figure this out.”

Stacy nodded. The two of them went back out into the main room, where Carson, Julianne, and the camera crew were waiting.

Mario announced, “Interview’s off for today. We’ll reschedule for a later day. Fergie’s not feeling too good.”

“What?” Carson exclaimed. “After all this, you want to reschedule?”

“It’s no big deal, really,” Stacy said, standing under one of the light stands.

Mario said to the camera crew, “Guys, start taking this stuff down.”

Carson and Julianne looked at Stacy. “Are you sure this is what you want?” Julianne asked.

“Yes, it is,” Stacy said. Though what she really wanted was to go back to The P*lace and see all friends and family.

“See?” Mario said. He started to walk over to Stacy, but Carson got him in front of him. No one noticed that one of his feet pulled along the cord to the light stand that Stacy was standing under.

“Are you sure about this?” Carson demanded. “After all the trouble – ”

“She’s sure,” Mario insisted. “It’s her call. She’s in charge.”

“Just like that?”

“Carson, it’s okay,” Julianne said. “If Fergie says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Mario walked past Carson over to Stacy. “I’ll stay with you for a while, just until you’re feeling better,” he said to her.

“Thanks Mario,” Stacy said. “You know, you were never like this back at The P*lace.

“I wasn’t?” Mario said, though he was pretty sure he had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m like that now.”

“Oh, please,” Carson said he turned around. “This is beyond mushy.” He started to walk away, pulling the cord that wrapped around his foot.

“Carson!” Julianne said. “Your foot is – “

Carson stopped and turned back around, but it already was too late. The cord yanked, and the light stand began to topple over.

“You know, Mario,” Stacy said to him, “maybe we can – “

“Fergie!” Julianne cried out.

The light stand tipped over and careened on to the back of Stacy’s head. 

“Fergie!” Mario exclaimed.

The last thing Stacy saw was Mario catching her before she hit the ground, then all was dark….

*******************************************

“Stacy? Stacy!” somebody was pleading loudly.

“Where am I?” Stacy finally replied, as she opened her eyes.

“You’re at The P*lace.”

Stacy opened her eyes fully, and they came into focus. She was back at The P*lace. Gloria, Ryan, Kid and her sister Renee, and Riley, were all there. She was laying down on the sofa, with the others gathered around her, sort of like Dorothy after her trip to the Land of Oz in the movie.

“Stacy, are you okay?” Renee asked.

“What happened?”

“You were reaching for a book on the shelf, and an empty paint can fell down and hit you,” Renee said. “You gave us a scare!”

“Are you all right Stacy?” Gloria asked.

Stacy sat up and exclaimed, “I’m back!” 

***********************************************

When she fully recovered, Stacy told the others about what had happened after she got hit on the head as best as she could remember.

“You saw the future?!” exclaimed Riley.

“Are there flying cars?” The Kid asked.

“How was the music?” Ryan asked.

“Do we have a woman president?” Renee asked.

Stacy replied, “No flying cars. The music is the same. And someone named O’Bama is running for president.”

“I think we should let Stacy rest a little more,” Gloria suggested. They nodded in agreement.

“There’s another thing,” Stacy said. “I asked what happened to Kids Incorporated, and the people there said they never heard of you.”

“What?” Renee exclaimed. “How is that possible? You couldn’t exist in the future unless you had a past with us.”

“Well, maybe Stacy saw a future that’s not going to be, but could be,” Ryan said. “As for us not existing, maybe it was a different future in a pararell universe where some elements of our past are there but not all and – “

“Ryan,” Renee said, “I think you should lay off the science fiction.”

“So, none of us were there?” The Kid asked, as the band’s drummer, Mario, came into the room, carrying his drum sticks.

“No,” Stacy replied. “Mario was there.”

“I was?” asked Mario. “Where?”

“Stacy had a dream about the future,” Renee said. 

“Well, I’m glad to see you’re okay Stacy,” Mario said. “So, what was I like in the future?”

Stacy looked at Mario, remembering how muscular he was going to be when he got older. Or could be, depending on what happened.

“You grew up,” Stacy replied. She said to the others, “But he was only one in the future that I knew. I didn’t know anybody else.”

“I can’t picture a world without me,” The Kid said.

“Stacy,” Gloria said, “if you want to sit out our next set, you’re more than welcome to.”

“No, I can go up on stage,” Stacy said. “I’m fine, really.”

“Okay, then,” Riley said. “Showtime in ten minutes?” The others nodded in agreement, as Riley left.

“Are you sure Stacy?” asked Renee. 

“I am,” her little sister replied.

“All right then,” Ryan said, “let’s get ready to rock!” They all left the dressing room, leaving Stacy and Mario alone.

“I’m glad to see that you’re up and around,” Mario said to Stacy. 

“Thanks, Mario,” she said back. “I’m just happy to be back here.” Then she said to him, “Thanks for being there for me.”

“Okay.” Though the look on Mario’s face said he had no idea what Stacy was talking about. 

They began to walk out of the dressing room when Stacy suddenly asked, “Mario, have you ever thought about being a Hollywood reporter, like those guys on ‘Entertainment Tonight’?”

Mario stopped and replied, “Never thought about it.” He then held up his drumsticks as if it were a microphone. “’This is Mario Lopez, reporting to you live from the red carpet at the Academy Awards!’” he said. “Well, if playing the drums or wrestling doesn’t work out, maybe I could do that.”

The two continued to head out the door, as Stacy asked, “Another thing – have you heard of a place called Bayside?”


End file.
